THE BECKONING CAT

A fetching feline rewards an act of kindness in this fresh rendition of a Japanese folktale. Yohei, a poor boy who sells fish door-to-door, works hard to buy medicine for his sick father. One rainy night a white cat appears at his door. Yohei dries her and shares his meager meal. While Yohei wonders how he can sell fish and still care for his father, villagers start arriving at his home to buy fish saying they followed the white cat who beckoned them with her paw. People come from afar to see Yohei’s cat, and soon his father improves, his business prospers and the beckoning white cat becomes a symbol of good luck in Japan. Naïf illustrations rendered in watercolor, colored pencil and gouache rely on simple, rounded shapes and pastel hues and feature Yohei and his cat in tableaux capturing the bygone innocence of rural Japan. Appropriately, a winsome and wise white cat beckons from various angles and poses, drawing readers from page to page just as she cleverly lures customers to Yohei’s door. A beguiling tale. (Picture book/folktale. 4-8)